Saturday, September 11, 2010

Wedding Anniversary


It was a few weeks ago, the fourth wedding anniversary. We were out walking through the Plaza Dos de Mayo that afternoon, and passed the itinerant postcard seller's stall, and this seemed appropriate. I hope for many more years of being as essentially happy as I am now.

Ibo Masquerades

My younger brother, who knows the kind of thing I like, has sent me some great postcards from the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of Ibo Masquerades in Nigeria from 1931. Here are a few of them. (My older brother also knows the kind of thing I like, of course, but he's more on the pastiche Soviet science fiction side of things.) There's a bit more information here.



Saturday, September 04, 2010

Current Favourite Sentences

Protester Pixie ni hEicht, from Dublin, criticised both the garda and the hundreds who had turned out for the book signing: "The police are west Brits who are protecting a British terrorist and the people queuing up over there should be ashamed of themselves. All these people buying the book are jackeens and traitors."

I particularly like the word 'jackeen'.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Technology: Isn't it wonderful?

I just got some photos of Russia developed. In addition to the physical copies, they give you the photos on a CD. I thought this might be a bit dull, but then I loaded them up and saw that what they do is to scan the negatives with a digital scanner and then (if necessary) sort out the colour with some form of magical colour programme.

All of which means that the digital versions have great vibrant colour (if necessary), all the grain of a real photo, and sometimes even a little nibbling at the edge where the edge of the negative comes. It's an effect I like a great deal.

The Great Lake at Gatchina


The Lazarus Cemetery


Private Gardens, Gatchina


Yelagin Island


Gatchina